News: 2013-2014 Mustang GT Track Cal

Like A Boss

By Steve Turner
Photos and video courtesy of Ford Motor Company and Ford Racing

Admit it. When word of a new Mustang hits the streets, you start comparing its features to the Mustang in your garage. Inevitably, there are options you wish you could add to your car. Lots of people make the change with easy mods, like newer wheels on older ’Stangs. However, some changes are harder to come by.

For owners of manual-transmission-equipped 2013-2014 Mustang GTs with Boss 302 TracKey envy, Ford Racing now offers Track Cal and TracKey calibration upgrades for your rides. You know you want have a warranty and have a lopey idle!

For many owners of modern Mustang GTs, it was the announcement of Ford Racing’s TracKey upgrade option for the Boss 302 (PN M-14204-MBTKA; $302) that pegged the jealousy meter. Not only was this factory calibration upgrade backed by a warranty, but it added numerous drool-worthy features. Most notable among upgrades were a driver-adjustable two-step launch control, a pit-lane speed limiter, and the most-sought-after change, a cammed-up, lopey idle.

If you aren’t familiar with the Boss 302 TracKey, be sure to check out these two videos:

For those who have been pining away for this upgrade since the Boss 302 has come and gone, your wait is over. Ford Racing has answered the prayers of owners of 2013-2014 Mustang GTs with manual transmissions by adding two new Track calibration options its repertoire.

The option for owners of 2013 and early 2014 Mustang GTs is the Track Cal (M-14204-MGTTC; $559). Its calibration is delivered via Ford Racing’s familiar ProCal flash tuner, and the kit includes the high-flow panel filter for the stock airbox.. While the lopey idle is on by default, it can be disabled should you want to put on a more civilized presentation for your in-laws.

“The mid-year change on the 2014 GT cluster allowed us to apply TracKey. We had a customer demand from GT owners after the success of the Boss 302 TracKey,” Jesse Kershaw, Drag Racing Parts and Competition Manager at Ford Racing, said. “Once we had the software and calibration it was a natural to offer it as a Track Cal version for all ’13-’14 GT owners even if they are not able to take advantage of the second key.”

Thanks to a running production change to the instrument cluster in the ’14 model year, these later GTs must be flashed at the dealer. This allows 2014.5 Mustang GTs—those built after July 1, 2013—to use a TracKey to activate the track-only calibration. When the TracKey is used to start the vehicle, the display in the instrument cluster will say” “TracKey Active, Track Use Only.”

Yes the Track Cal and TracKey offer a lot of cool features, most notably a two-step launch control and a lopey idle. As you can see, those 1,000 new lines of code also improve the engine’s performance. Officially, Ford Racing says these upgrades yield to 60 lb-ft of torque at 1,500 rpm and peak increases of 16 hp and 7 lb-ft.

“We had a strong starting point with the Boss 302 TracKey and the various race car builds but it still takes significant time. First we have to write the software that allows the Track functionality, then we fine tune the calibration to the Mustang GT’s specifications such as cam lift,” Jesse explained. “From there validation takes several months of work on the dyno, wind tunnel for weather testing, and real life driving to ensure the calibration will meet the requirements for CARB certification and for our own durability and warranty.”

Adjustments of the launch control and pit-lane speed control are achieved by using the speed (a.k.a. cruise) control buttons on the left side of the steering wheel.

Certainly the engineering put into these calibrations is cool, but how do they feel? “The calibration provides more low-end torque and improves throttle feel,” Jesse enthused. “The lopey idle is visceral, it sounds and ultimately ‘feels’ fast even standing still.”

We look forward to getting our hands on one of these new calibrations to try it out in the real world. For now, however, we can share what we know about the new calibrations, including Ford Racing’s own chassis-dyno testing. That should whet your appetite for calibration.

We loved driving the 2013 Boss 302 with the TracKey in various locations, including the Boss 302 Track Attack at Miller Motorsports Park. There the pit-speed idle limiter definitely came in handy. However, the lopey idle was clearly the most fun side-effect of the track calibration. Having this option on 2013-2014 Mustang GTs will definitely improve their street cred.